Improvise. Adapt. Overcome? - When and How Did Companies Notice the Covid-19 Crisis? - Digital Oxygen
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Improvise. Adapt. Overcome? A study on firms dealing with the Covid-19 Crisis in Germany Part 1 When and How Did Companies Notice the Covid-19 Crisis?
52 business owners and managers shared
their experience in dealing with Corona.
When and How Did Companies
Part 1 Notice the Covid-19 Crisis?
Qualitative Interviews
1h to 2h
52 Participants
What Were Firms’ Expectations
Part 2 towards Partners, Employees,
in management positions
upcoming
and Authorities?
52 Firms
with subsidiaries in Germany*
How Did Companies React to
Part 3 the Crisis? What Role Do 2 Weeks
upcoming
Networks Play? survey period
Source: Digital Oxygen *Representative sample of firms in Germany regarding distribution across economic sectors and level of internationalization. 1When did companies in
Germany first notice the crisis? Smaller and domestic
companies were first
affected by school closures
in Mid-March.
Big multinationals
noticed the crisis way
before.Half of all firms didn’t notice the crisis until
after the nationwide lockdown in Italy.
Companies Aware of Crisis
in % and aggregated in %
25% 100%
21% 21%
19%
20% 80%
15% 60%
10% 8% 40%
6% 6% 6%
4% 4% 4%
5% 2% of firms felt the impact 20%
0% 0%
DEC’19 JANUARY’20 FEBRUARY MARCH
31.12. 07.01. 30.01. 26.02. 08.03.
WHO hears Corona virus WHO declares Mr. Drosten’s Major events cancelled
of pneumonia first isolated public health Corona virus in Germany
cases in Wuhan emergency update
13.01. 27.01. 09.03.
First case reported First confirmed First death in Germany &
outside China case in Germany Lock-down in Italy
23.01. 22.02. 13.03. 22.03.
incident/measure Lockdown
Lockdown German Shut-down and
announcement
in Wuhan in Lombardy schools close curfew in Germany
Source: Digital Oxygen n = 52 3Multinationals noticed the crisis 2 weeks
earlier than firms with domestic focus.
50% of internationals 50% of domestics
Companies Aware of Crisis by Type of Business Relation noticed the crisis 100%
aggregated, in % before this point 94%
Firms with Domestic Focus 76%
Firms with International Relations*
55%
47%
22% 26%
18%
12%
2% of firms felt the impact 6%
DEC’19 JANUARY’20 FEBRUARY MARCH
31.12. 07.01. 30.01. 26.02. 08.03.
WHO hears Corona virus WHO declares Mr. Drosten’s Major events cancelled
of pneumonia first isolated public health Corona virus in Germany
cases in Wuhan emergency update
13.01. 27.01. 09.03.
First case reported First confirmed First death in Germany &
outside China case in Germany Lock-down in Italy
23.01. 22.02. 13.03. 22.03.
incident/measure Lockdown
Lockdown German Shut-down and
announcement
in Wuhan in Lombardy schools close curfew in Germany
Source: Digital Oxygen n = 52 *Firms that engage with foreign customers, clients, partners, and suppliers. 4Manufacturing firms noticed the
crisis 2 weeks earlier than service firms.
50% of manufacturing firms 50% of service
Companies Aware of Crisis by Type of Good noticed the crisis firms
in % before this point
Service Firms 21% 21%
Manufacturing Firms 18%
8%
6% 6% 6%
4% 4% 4%
2% of firms felt the impact
DEC’19 JANUARY’20 FEBRUARY MARCH
31.12. 07.01. 30.01. 26.02. 08.03.
WHO hears Corona virus WHO declares Mr. Drosten’s Major events cancelled
of pneumonia first isolated public health Corona virus in Germany
cases in Wuhan emergency update
13.01. 27.01. 09.03.
First case reported First confirmed First death in Germany &
outside China case in Germany Lock-down in Italy
23.01. 22.02. 13.03. 22.03.
incident/measure Lockdown
Lockdown German Shut-down and
announcement
in Wuhan in Lombardy schools close curfew in Germany
Source: Digital Oxygen n = 52 5The smaller the annual revenue, the later
firms noticed the crisis.
50% of high-revenue firms 50% of medium- 50% of low-
Companies Aware of Crisis by Revenue noticed the crisis revenue firms revenue firms
in % before this point
Firms with 10 mio annual revenue
8%
6% 6% 6%
4% 4% 4%
2% of firms felt the impact
DEC’19 JANUARY’20 FEBRUARY MARCH
31.12. 07.01. 30.01. 26.02. 08.03.
WHO hears Corona virus WHO declares Mr. Drosten’s Major events cancelled
of pneumonia first isolated public health Corona virus in Germany
cases in Wuhan emergency update
13.01. 27.01. 09.03.
First case reported First confirmed First death in Germany &
outside China case in Germany Lock-down in Italy
23.01. 22.02. 13.03. 22.03.
incident/measure Lockdown
Lockdown German Shut-down and
announcement
in Wuhan in Lombardy schools close curfew in Germany
Source: Digital Oxygen n = 52 6How did companies in Germany
first notice the crisis? Firms noticed Corona
through disruptions in
their own business
environment and
supply chains even
before government
measures were announced.Firms who noticed the crisis first, learned
about it through business-related indicators.
First Crisis Indicators
in %
100
80
60 57%
noticed the crisis through
40 Business-Related Indicators* 43%
20 noticed the crisis through
Government & Media**
0
DEC’19 JANUARY’20 FEBRUARY MARCH
31.12. 07.01. 30.01. 26.02. 08.03.
WHO hears Corona virus WHO declares Mr. Drosten’s Major events cancelled
of pneumonia first isolated public health Corona virus in Germany
cases in Wuhan emergency update
13.01. 27.01. 09.03.
First case reported First confirmed First death in Germany &
outside China case in Germany Lock-down in Italy
23.01. 22.02. 13.03. 22.03.
incident/measure Lockdown
Lockdown German Shut-down and
announcement
in Wuhan in Lombardy schools close curfew in Germany
Source: Digital Oxygen n = 52 *Business-related indicators are any signs of crisis, that are first noticed in the company’s business , e.g. a decrease in sales. 8
**Government announcements and measures, e.g. the nation-wide lock-down, and media coverage of the crisis.Supply and sales disruptions dominated
long before government measures began.
First Crisis Indicators
in %
100
80
60 57%
noticed the crisis through
40 Business-Related Indicators* 43%
20 noticed the crisis through
Government & Media**
0
57% Business-Related Indicators 43% Government & Media
Sales 30% Lockdown 21%
Supply 20%
Media Exposure 14%
Partners 5%
Industry-Specific Measures 8%
Production 2%
Source: Digital Oxygen n = 52 *Business-related indicators are any signs of crisis, that are first noticed in the company’s business , e.g. a decrease in sales. 9
**Government announcements and measures, e.g. the nation-wide lock-down, and media coverage of the crisis.Sales slumps, supply losses, media coverage, and
the lockdown were most common indicators.
First Crisis Indicators
in %
Lockdown 21%
Media Exposure 14% Gov & Media
Industry-Specific Measures 8%
Sales Decrease 21%
Cancellation of Appointments 5%
Sales Increase 2% Sales
Delayed Decisions 1%
Delayed Payments 1%
Supply Shortage 11%
Supply Stops 8% Supply
Production Conversion of Suppliers 1%
Restrictions Partner Companies 5% Partners
Affected Foreign Subsidiaries 1%
Production
Production Decrease & Plant Closures 1%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
Source: Digital Oxygen n = 52 *Almost 80% of interviewees mentioned more than one indicator for their crisis recognition.
This analysis categorizes the actual amount of mentions and does not include any consequential business results of each mention.This Covid-19 study is jointly conducted by
Siegen University and Digital Oxygen.
The Study’s Purpose Cooperation Siegen University
This study aims at understanding the economic and social implications of the and Digital Oxygen
Covid-19 pandemic in companies doing business in Germany. The study shall
help to mitigate the consequences of an impending recession by recognizing
challenges and pointing out constructive solution approaches.
Prof. Dr. Petra Moog
Chair for Entrepreneurship
Contents and Family Business
Situation and What is the current situation of companies in Germany? Siegen University
Challenges What are companies’ needs and challenges during this crisis?
Which business areas are affected in what way?
E-Mail: p.moog@uni-siegen.de
Expectations What do companies expect from key stakeholders?
and Reactions What are the plans to overcome current and future challenges?
Results Nicolas Bell
Partner
Best Practices Discovery of possible approaches and constructive solutions
(cost reduction, increases in productivity). Digital Oxygen
Digital Solutions Identification of digital solutions to proactively manage the E-Mail: nbe@diox.de
crisis and emerge with competitive advantage.
Source: Digital Oxygen 11Appendix
Appendix A – Glossary and Abbreviations
Term Definition
Measure Measure of any kind directed at mitigating Covid-19 outbreaks or consequences therefrom
WHO World Health Organization
International focus Firms that mainly engage with foreign customers, clients, partners, and suppliers
Domestic focus Firms that mainly engage with customers, clients, partners, and suppliers in Germany
Service firms Firms that focus on service offerings
Manufacturing firms Firms that focus on producing and selling goods
Major events Events with more than 1000 participants
Mr. Drosten’s Corona update Educational podcast on the latest Corona-related research in the field of virology by Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten from the Institute
for Virology at Charité Berlin
Source: Digital Oxygen 13Appendix B – Chronology of Selected Events
Date Event Type Description Reference
Tue,
Incident WHO China Country Office informed of cases of pneumonia WHO: https://www.who.int/csr/don/05-january-2020-pneumonia-of-unkown-cause-china/en/
31.12.
Tue,
Incident New corona virus first isolated WHO: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200121-sitrep-1-2019-ncov.pdf?sfvrsn=20a99c10_4
07.01.
Mon,
Incident First reported case outside of China (Thailand) WHO: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200121-sitrep-1-2019-ncov.pdf?sfvrsn=20a99c10_4
13.01.
Mon, Lockdown in Wuhan, introduction of measures from 23.01.-
Announcement Central News Agency, Taipeh: https://www.cna.com.tw/news/firstnews/202001230154.aspx
23.01. 25.01.
Mon,
Incident First confirmed case in Germany Bavarian State Ministry: https://www.stmgp.bayern.de/presse/bestaetigter-coronavirus-fall-in-bayern-infektionsschutzmassnahmen-laufen/
27.01.
Thu, WHO declares public health emergency of international
Measure WHO: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen
30.01. concern
Wed,
Announcement Lockdown in Lombardy, start of first measures The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/23/coronavirus-northern-italian-towns-close-schools-and-businesses
22.02.
Wed,
Measure Start of Mr. Drosten’s Corona virus update Norddeutscher Rundfunk (Radionews Northern Germany): https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/info/podcast4684_page-6.html
26.02.
Sun,
Measure Recommendation to cancel all major events in Germany Tagesschau (ARD): https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/coronavirus-spahn-rki-103.html
08.03.
Mon,
Incident First confirmed deaths in Germany Deutsche Welle (ARD): https://www.dw.com/de/erste-corona-todesf%C3%A4lle-in-deutschland/a-52597027
09.03.
Mon,
Incident Italy declares nationwide lock-down BBC News: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-51810673
09.03.
Fri,
Announcement Germany closes all schools from 16.03. Tagesschau (ARD): https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/corona-schulschliessungen-103.html
13.03.
Sun, Nationwide shut-down with state-dependent curfew from Spiegel: https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/corona-krise-kommt-die-ausgangssperre-fuer-ganz-deutschland-a-5f564c5d-74f3-444b-
Announcement
22.03. upcoming week onwards bd8f-d60667b9215a
Source: Digital Oxygen 14Appendix C – Category Definitions Timeline Reference Definition References to specific dates and events were checked for accuracy and allocated to the corresponding week. Announcements and events on Sundays were registered for the following week. References to timeframes of several weeks were conservatively allocated to the latest date mentioned. References to general media exposure (no specific date or event) were allocated to week 9. References to media exposure concerning the lockdown were allocated to week 12, when the lockdown was first announced. References to the start of lockdown were allocated to week 13, the first week of the lockdown. References to school closures were allocated to week 11, when the first school closure announcement happened. References to panic buying were allocated to week 11. Source: Digital Oxygen 15
Appendix D – Category Definitions Indicators
Category Definition
Affected foreign subsidiaries Affected subsidiaries of interviewed company, not specifying the way the subsidiary was affected
Cancellation of appointments Cancellation of sales appointments and general appointments with partners and customers that were not specifically caused by the
lockdown and/or industry-specific measures
Delayed decisions and payments Delayed decisions in partner companies and delayed payments by debtors and customers
Industry specific measures Official orders, measures, announcements, or recommendations limiting or forbidding business activities in selected industries, e.g. closure of
sports clubs
Lockdown Official orders limiting movement or activities in a community, not considering region or state-specific forms of lockdown
Media exposure Awareness through overall media and press coverage or coverage on specific Corona-related events or announcements
Production conversions Suppliers altering their production/products/plans/schedules, e.g. prioritized production of disinfectants
Production decrease and plant Reduction of company-internal production or full closure of foreign or domestic production sites
closures
Restrictions partner companies Change in partner companies’ communication and other crisis preparation in partner companies
Sales decrease Decreased demand, lower sales, less customer acquisition, and cancelled or postponed projects
Sales increase Higher demand, higher sales (especially in reference to panic buying) and related increase in demand for logistics services
Supply shortage Decreased availability of products and longer waiting periods for products
Supply stops Complete supply stops of products and product groups, supply chain disruptions, and transportation barriers
Source: Digital Oxygen 16You can also read
